Family of 4 to Ventana: momand dad are very good sailors/kiters. 10 year old son waterstarts and is hooked in, planing, in straps and even jumps a little. 7 year old can go upwind on a big floater. Where do we stay?

Cant do campground because we are flying, Estebans is too pricey, Joe and Angie dont allow kids. I have heard differing accounts regarding Captain Kirks. Some say, no way for kids, too many rocks, urchins etc. Other say, Not a problem, beach is big enough etc..

The launch at Kirks can be a little rocky but not sharp. There are some urchins downwind but not a problem. After a couple of days I usually revert to wearing booties. If one was to breakdown out sailing/kiting the wind will just blow you to the south beach and youll have a nice walk back. They keep a pretty good eye on their clients so any trouble and they are right there. Reuben (the shuttle driver will pick your group up at the airport and take you to the CCC market in La Paz. For less than a hundred bucks you can buy all the groceries you need for the week. We spend fifty and usually give food away at the end of our trip. Pure drinking water is supplied.There is a large kitchen and patio with videos .Maybe PlayStation . There are a couple of places to eat within walking distance. Great local sea food and local fare. Cheap.No place to spend money while you are there. No beggers, hardworking friendly locals .We have averaged about 60% sailable days. More for kiters.Sometimes it blows and sometimes it dosnt but it never sucks.Just be in Baja, Kick back,walk on the beach, Catch the morning sunrise over the Sea of Cortes.Sometimes the water just boils with baitfish and 30# Jacks. Take the kids and enjoy.No I dont work for Kirk, Weve been there five times and not a bummer yet.More questions just ask...WS

OK, I will. Maybe some of you who go there often can address these questions. Ive asked 20+ people and collected 12+ mag articles on Baja, and welcome any additional opinions.

How are the sailing conditions? Sail sizes/wind strength? Duration (hours per typical week in peak season, maybe)? Ocean terrain? Crowds on the water? How does one keep food cold sitting there in an RV for weeks on end, short of solar power?

In general, can you critique this consensus from my 30-40 sources so far: La Ventana is the best of the Sea of Cortez sites (and the Baja Pacific coast sites are for hard core, expert wave sailors). In a typical peak season week, one can expect a couple of 6.0 days plus maybe a couple of 5.0 days, with maybe a 5th day if lucky, with a day meaning 3-4-5 hours of such wind. Terrain: chopswell half the time, until clean swell has time to build. Once the terrain builds, it consists of modest waves separated by smooth water or chopswell -- good down-the-line wavesailing-learning conditions. Outside that wind window, one kites, fishes, bikes, dives, hikes, partys, and/or kicks back to enjoy the scenery and conversation -- all in all a laid-back relaxing vacation with a wide variety of spontaneous activities for a family. Is that close?

If my data is wrong, the nut cases are the 40+ sources who gave me the data in print and/or in person. However . . . not ONE of them claimed anything remotely resembling your claimed success rate, and Last year means squat relative to the typical conditions that actually MEAN anything. Ill add your experience to my data bank.

Here is my 2 cents since I have camped and later lived in my beach house in La Ventana 2-3 months a year for over 12 years. Last year was the best yearin a while and I sailed most days on a 5.0 or 4.5 at 185 lbs. I sailed a 4.0 a few times but I was surfing Todas on a few of the really big El Nortes and missed the strongest days. The first 3 years we went to La Ventana these types of winds were the rule. Then we had about 6 years where I mostly sailed a 5.0 (never larger) off my house north of La Venatan while campground people were mostly on 5.0 to 6.5. Bottomline...I would not judge the wind by just a couple of trips. La Ventana does have the most reliable winds in Baja due to the huge valley down wind. There is some chop inside but if the wind is 5.0 or stronger there will be big swell outside. If it is an El Nino year with the storm track over Southern California then the swell will be smaller since only the south half of Baja gets wind and a shorter fetch means small swell. With no El Nino the whole Sea of Cortez blows and even 5.0 winds see great swell.

I agree the biking, kayaking, fishing, hiking, kiting etc. are world class. Someone mis informed you about down the line wave sailing. There are several places where there is decent backside wave sailing but the waves are defintely not San Carlos style down the line wave sailing. The water is crowded near the campground but not like the Hatchery in the Gorge. And if you head upwind or far outside you can find empty water. My advice...buy several lots there fast. Best investment I have ever made both fun and money wise!

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